Other than that - and this will take ages and cost more probably - get the Thameslink train from Luton Airport Parkway station (free shuttle bus from terminal) down to Kings Cross (Thameslink) and get the tube (Circle / Metropolitan / Hammersmith & City lines) to Liverpool Street and then get the Stansted Express back out - this will take at least 2 hours.

Quoting Mennix (Reply 2):he easiest way is to rent a car in a one way direction.

Easier and less hassle than the bus? I see the bus only costs GBP 9.90. Add to that the time it takes to pick up and return the car, not familiar with the route, maybe not familiar with right-hand drives and (according to route planners online) hardly quicker.

Quoting Joost (Reply 3):Easier and less hassle than the bus? I see the bus only costs GBP 9.90. Add to that the time it takes to pick up and return the car, not familiar with the route, maybe not familiar with right-hand drives and (according to route planners online) hardly quicker.

Is the bus that terrible?

I once drove from LHR-LTN with a rented car and came back via bus service...much easier to take the bus.....believe it or not..

I wouldn't recommend driving from LTN to Stansted as there isn't really a direct link between them, I agree with going by National Express. You get picked up literally outside the arrival hall at LTN and then taken straight to STN, no hassle, no fuss!

Quoting BCAL (Reply 6):Agree that the National Express service is best but cheapest? It would be cheaper to hitch a lift, but then you might not be picked up not to mention all the risks associated with hitch hiking.

Cannot you rent a bike one-way? According to the viamichelin route finder, it is only 55km, or 4 hours, by bike. Walking should be possible in 12 hours

If you're feeling like something a bit different, why not fly, say, STN-DUB-LTN with FR, or STN-EDI/GLA/AMS/BFS-LTN with U2, or... ? Depending on when you want to go, and if you're lucky, the flights might only cost 20-50 GBP. That'd be a cool and possibly very cheap, if time-consuming, way to do it.

"Everyone writing for the Telegraph knows that the way to grab eyeballs is with Ryanair and/or sex."

Quote: Cannot you rent a bike one-way? According to the viamichelin route finder, it is only 55km, or 4 hours, by bike

well, more like 3 hours! I could lend you a bike: you'd be hard pressed to find one for rental!
Seriously, I live between the two places, almost exactly on that bus route and can confirm what others have said: BUS IS BEST! Try and avoid travel before 09:00 (bad traffic in several places like Hitchin and Stevenage).

Quote: By road, you could cut across the A roads, but fastest way would be down the M1, round the M25 and back up the M11.

I think the idea should be avoided. After almost missing a flight doing this trick, I've decided in the future I will either pay the extra cost and use something like LHR, or spend the night in London and take in a show. Its a hassle, IMHO.

For having to ride a bus, National Express isn't bad. I took their busses for several different trips on my last visit. They're fairly clean, the people on board don't smell like our (American) bus passengers would and the bus drivers are full of good stories if you sit near the front.